Though Cynthia Nixon has been in movies and television since the 1980s, you likely know her from a little show titled Sex and the City, which aired from 1998 to 2004. It was (and frankly, still is) a wildly popular show about a group of women trying to make it in New York City. It can be argued that the show is what threw Nixon into stardom, and while she’s been in the spotlight for many years now, her name is creating a different kind of buzz these days. On March 19th, Cynthia Nixon announced her campaign for governor of New York.
Though media outlets picked up the story quickly, it was a video she posted on Twitter that caught many people’s attention. She begins by stating her love of New York; she grew up there, went to school there, and her kids are doing just the same. She addresses several problems that New York faces that will likely be a large part of her campaign platform; such as the horrible economic disparity among citizens, health care, and mass incarceration. She claims not to be a politician “who care[s] more about headlines than they do about us,” and asserts that together, she and her fellow citizens of New York will fight for the change they so desperately need.
Courtesy: The Intellengcer
The video is well produced and was certainly constructed to tug at one’s pathos. It really does make Cynthia Nixon seem genuine and sincere, like she truly wants to make a difference in New York. But this sort of thing always swirls up mixed reviews, no matter how genuine a person seems. Plenty of people have rallied in support of Nixon, but plenty of others roll their eyes at the thought of yet another inexperienced celebrity trying their hand at politics.
While this may be her first time running for any office, Nixon is not new when it comes to battling issues. She is an outspoken advocate of LGBTQ+ rights (she is bisexual herself), attending many rallies and giving many speeches on the issue over the years. She is a long-time fighter for children’s education—she was even arrested in 2003 while protesting budget cuts to public education. She is vocal about being pro-choice. She even had a role in an advisory board that provided services to the fields of mental health and immigration. Nixon may not have held an office, but she seems to know people, and she seems to know New York.
As of now, my feelings about Cynthia Nixon running for office are not strong either way. I like what she stands for, but we’ll just have to see what ideas she comes up with to fix the problems her state faces. That being said, Cynthia Nixon’s win would be historic. Not only would she be the first woman to be governor of New York, but she would also be the first LGBTQ+ person to hold the position as well. With the political climate, we are currently in, this would be monumental, and could potentially promote more acceptance for these two groups. For now, we just have to watch the race and see what happens.